Etihad Airways wins Islamic Deal of the Year award

Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Etihad Airways has been awarded the Islamic Deal of the Year by Global Transport Finance for its debut Sukuk.

The
Abu Dhabi-based national airline of the United Arab Emirates successfully
completed a Sukuk
issuance raising US$1.5 billion in November 2016 – the largest ever in the aviation industry in the Middle
East and North Africa region (MENA).

The Sukuk represented a landmark debt capital
market transaction for both the aviation sector and the Islamic markets. The ground-breaking funding
from institutional investors across MENA
and Europe was the first
ever debt capital markets issuance by Etihad Airways.

The airline successfully optimised pricing
and size of the Sukuk, reflected by investors’ appetite which resulted in the
final transaction – US$1.5 billion against an initial indication of US$500
million.

HSBC, J.P. Morgan and National Bank of
Abu Dhabi were mandated as Joint Arrangers for the five-year issuance, with Abu
Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and First Gulf Bank mandated as Joint
Bookrunners.

James Rigney, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Financial Officer, said:
“This historic transaction was the result of a solid plan put together by our
Treasury team which generated great feedback from the markets.”

James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group President and Chief Executive
Officer, added: “An innovative approach to business is at the heart
of our strategy at Etihad Airways. I am delighted to see the high level of
confidence in our business reflected by the ground-breaking Sukuk, and credit
to James Rigney and his
treasury team for creating a framework
that developed a
strong appetite from the markets, particularly during challenging
times in the financial sector and
for our industry.”

Global
Transport Finance (GTF) is a transportation finance publication for the
commercial aviation, shipping and rail industries, reporting on the latest
developments in aircraft, shipping and rail financing / leasing. The accolade
was presented at GTF’s annual awards event in London.